Book Four - Chapter Four: An Unsuspected Pirate

The Black Pearl set sail from Ahoyhoy once again, but this time with its full crew, plus one. No one had taken any notice until one man woke up in his hammock to find a creature standing upon his chest. The man hollered and the animal screeched before jumping away to the hammock across from him. All of the men in the crew's quarters were stirred into action. Some were in a panic and others thought it a fun game to try to catch the monkey. A couple of men tried to lure it into a blanket in which to trap it in, but the monkey ran from them. The commotion in that quarter of the ship was so great that it attracted the curiosity of those on deck to come down and see the action. As men were descending, the small monkey ran up the stairs, tripping one man and causing the one below him to roll down the stairs. Men leaped over the fallen and ran upstairs to follow the creature. As the monkey emerged on deck, it sought to be away from trampling feet, and so it jumped to the first rope it found. It scurried along a rope and leapt from rope to rope, and then from shoulder to shoulder, frightening the unsuspecting men. Finally it jumped off of a man's head and leapt onto high enough rigging to be out of immediate reach. From there it scurried higher. The men below watched, but none followed it.

Amelia, too, saw the commotion and could only laugh.

Jack shot her a look and asked, "Friend of yours?"

"Hardly," Amelia said, "he's been tormenting everyone. He didn't come as near the village until I showed up." Amelia put her hand to her necklace. "He likes the shine."

Barbossa laughed, "Seems we've got ourselves a wee pirate."

The monkey did not seem like it was going to descend so the men left it alone. Barbossa took to leaving bits of cracker on the deck rail and walking away from it. When Barbossa returned the cracker would be gone and the monkey would be sitting a rung lower than it had been before.

For one thing, the monkey made the nights eerier aboard the ship. Every now and then when it was quiet the men could hear it scurrying and screeching. There was no knowing where it would be when the men woke up or what it had taken. Anything the monkey could carry would later be found in a new location than where it was originally left. It became a great nuisance, but it was also slowly becoming Barbossa's new pet project.

Jack's hopes for a moment's privacy were now all dashed. If it wasn't enough that the monkey had learned to open doors at will, Jack also could not shake his old friend Bimbly. Bimbly was still at a loss for getting on well with the others and so he continued to rely on the captain for signs of friendship. Jack tried to be obliging but Bimbly's dedication was becoming annoyingly excessive. He was, however, an honest man.

"Jack," Bimbly said to his captain, "I can't thank you enough for takin' me on as you have. I owe you, and I mean to make good on that, Jack, you have my word. But I's been gettin' to thinkin'," he said, "what with me goin' there anyway…"

"Just say what's on your mind," Jack huffed.

"Feersen's after a quick profit, not that he needs it," Bimbly said, "but he knows not how to go 'bout it. Jack, you and me, we's of a different sort. We know how it's done, hang the risk, eh? The crew, they say you's found Ewould's gold."

"Found it, spent it, lost the rest," Jack said.

"That's quite the legendary treasure to unearth, Jack - no small triffle," Bimbly said. "I ain't even ever dreamt of gettin' me hand on the like - but you could, Jack."

"What are you on about?"

"Ewould's wealth cost him his life. Cortez's wealth, on the other hand, cost the lives of thousands."

"Cortez? Even if the stories were true, there's no finding it. It can't be found – "

"'Cept by one who knows where to look," Bimbly said.

"And you think you do?"

"Me? No. But she would," Bimbly said.

"Even if she did, she don't deal cheap."

"Aye, you're right on that. Feersen will set me up with a payment for her. What if it went to our own endeavour instead?"

"You'd turn on him?"

"If we could get the gold, Jack, I'd have a new life for meself."

"And Feersen? I don't expect him to take kindly to it."

"That's why I wouldn't risk it alone. I know you, Jack, you can take on anythin'. I told you, I'm a weak man on meown. I don't expect to lay claim - a fair share, like any of the others."

"It's not about the prize," Jack said. "It's about the cost."

"I hear ya. But think of what you could do with it. Jack, you could have a fleet sail under you."

"Turn myself into the Monchris?"

"You have to admit, it wasn't a bad deal while it lasted."

"And what do you get out of it?" Jack asked.

"Out from Feersen. I tell you, Jack, the more honest they are the harder they bite ya. I'm gettin' to old for it, Jack. At least in a dishonest trade you know what's expected of you," Bimbly explained. "There's only one hitch."

"I'm listening."

"It's the girl, Jack," Bimbly said cautiously.

"What of her?"

"We both know what would happen if she were to come with us."

"She may be a jealous sort –"

"Jack, if we want somethin' so great, she'll need appeasin'. I ain't the charming type."

"Then we keep Amelia on the ship when the boat goes forward."

"What if it ain't enough? I wouldn't put it past her to strike the girl down. There's a reason women and the sea don't mix."

"I've already just left her behind, I'll not do so again," Jack argued.

"Hear me out. Me mind gets muddled but what I have to say's important. I's been gone long. Feersen may not trust me to back out again. I need to make sure that Tia Dalma gets her payment. If all Feersen wants is a quick profit, then I say we give him one."

He had Jack's full attention now.

"I ain't so dense to not know who's who, Jack. That Ms. Barbossa be a Crestcastle. That name has a lot of weight in decent places, Jack."

"What of it?"

"If you can trust me, I can ensure that she's safe."

"She is safe," Jack interjected.

"Not when the witch knows of her. She'll not stand for it, Jack. She'll see the girl suffer. Feersen, he'll know the name. He'll know what it's worth. If he takes her, he'd take her straight to the Colonel. I can set it up, make it look as though Feersen rescued her and then he can claim whatever reward from the Colonel."

"Who's to say that there would be one?" Jack questioned.

"Don't matter. All he needs is to think that there's one. If there ain't, it won't be as though he'd have any reason to keep the girl of his own accord. Once you have the gold and the fleet, who would cross you?"

"You have thought this through, haven't you?"

"Everyone wins, Jack."

"Barbossa wouldn't have it, not with his daughter in the mix," Jack said.

"What makes you so sure? He's pirate as any, ain't he not?" Bimbly asked.

"We'd have to promise him more," Jack said. "He'd not do it only to be under my colours. No, for that sacrifice he'd need his own."

"Then promise him his own ship, Jack. With the gold it could be done," Bimbly suggested.

Jack thought about it. He had promised Barbossa his own ship already and then proceeded to watch it sink. As for Amelia, it would have to be something that came from Barbossa and not the captain. Barbossa would have to agree and trust it. Barbossa would have to talk Amelia into it.

With that, Jack called Barbossa into the captain's cabin to discuss the possibility. Barbossa seemed intrigued by the thought of going after the Aztec gold. Bimbly explained things as before and Jack elaborated where it was needed. When it came to the details concerning Amelia, Barbossa became very silent. Jack did not know what to expect from his first mate.

"Let me get this straight, Captain," Barbossa said, "if we get this gold, it'll be as Ewould's Island all again?"

"Minus a few of the sticky bits," Jack said.

"And Amelia goes back to Stone Chapel?"

"Aye, as you had originally intended," Jack added.

"And you'll be explainin' this to her I suspect," Barbossa said.

"Would it do better coming from her captain or her father?" Jack asked.

"No matter which," Bimbly interrupted, "I'd have to clear it with Feersen first. No point going through the fuss if he won't follow through."

"So you'll go ahead, tell your master, grab the payment, and he'll come for the girl?" Jack asked.

Bimbly reassured both men that he would not force them to press on until everything was secure on the other side. Barbossa seemed quick to agree. Jack was very much surprised by his first mate's enthusiasm.

Barbossa wasted very little time in telling the crew about the gold. He filled them in on all versions of the legend. It became the most popular topic aboard the ship. Everyone proved to be eager.

A part of the captain was hoping that Feersen would not comply and Amelia need never know of the arrangement. He knew that Bimbly was right, however. It would be very risky to have Amelia and Tia Dalma within the same vicinity. If not just for their own sakes, then for Jack's. This, of course, was the one detail that Barbossa was not spreading around the ship. If Amelia was to stay in Stone Chapel, she would have to lose her fondness of the ship and the sea. It was for her own good.